The Mountain Pine Beetle, a pest which tunnels through and kills pine trees, has created a state of epidemic for almost a decade and a half in Canada, and in recent years, has made its way south to Colorado where the beetles have killed over two million acres of the state’s lodgepole pine trees.
Rise of an Epidemic Due to forest fire prevention, our mountain forests have grown overly dense, and now due to drought, they are more susceptible to Mountain Pine Beetle outbreaks. There are many contributing factors to this epidemic. The Mountain Pine Beetle in Colorado, or MPB, has a one year life cycle in sync with the seasons. Most of the beetles have reached adulthood and begin feeding in late July and mid-August. MPB tunnel under the tree bark to lay eggs, where they also transmit blue stain fungi. These fungi grow in the egg tunnels and help the beetle kill the tree. The seasons, and cold temperatures play such a crucial role in regulating how long the adult beetles are feeding for. Therefore, climate change, shorter winters and warmer springs and summers may be a major factor in development of the current epidemic in Colorado. The beetles have moved into higher altitude areas, a sure sign of temperature increase, as larvae are vulnerable in winter and early spring. At these sensitive stages, larvae will die if temperatures below thirty degrees Fahrenheit are sustained for at least five days.
Forest Fires and Carbon Sink The pest induced deforestation decreases the amount of carbon uptake by the forest and increases its future carbon emissions. So while this problem is partly caused by climate change, the beetle epidemic is also contributing to it. Climate change will continue to enhance the beetle epidemic by altering the pest’s life cycle, abundance of natural enemies and interactions with competitors. In short, continued insect outbreaks coupled with forest fires (carbon emission into atmosphere) will compromise North American carbon sinks.
Artificial Selection The most popular way to contain an invasive species is to kill it using pesticides. Common associations with pesticide use are in the food agriculture business where a few species of corn, apples and other produce have been chosen to be sold on a large scale. The food system essentially harnesses and replicates these attractive genes through various methods including grafting and genetic modification of seeds to standardize the food they produce. By halting adaptation of the plants, we allow the pests to take the upper hand, therefore creating a need for pesticides. Perhaps by using pesticides on the pine trees we are preventing another species of tree from taking their place in the mountain ecosystems.
Potential Solutions Verbenone is a hormone and an alternative to pesticides which comes in a pouch and can be hung from trees to deter pine beetles. This alternative is not considered a feasible option to control the pests on a large scale, but can be effective in small populations. Government spending has been explored, but legislators prefer to allocate funds to protect the people, infrastructure, and water supply. Pest control finds itself at the bottom of the budget. However, the USDA Forest Service reports that solar treatment represents the best alternative to pesticide use. By felling trees with beetle larvae in them, cutting them into four foot logs and leaving them in the hot sun, beetles can be killed before they reach adult state. A good use of government spending would be to create an incentive plan to carrying out this labor intensive alternative to pesticides.
Why worry about the Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle?
The Mountain Pine Beetle, a pest which tunnels through and kills pine trees, has created a state of epidemic for almost a decade and a half in Canada, and in recent years, has made its way south to Colorado where the beetles have killed over two million acres of the state’s lodgepole pine trees.
Rise of an Epidemic
Due to forest fire prevention, our mountain forests have grown overly dense, and now due to drought, they are more susceptible to Mountain Pine Beetle outbreaks. There are many contributing factors to this epidemic.
The Mountain Pine Beetle in Colorado, or MPB, has a one year life cycle in sync with the seasons. Most of the beetles have reached adulthood and begin feeding in late July and mid-August. MPB tunnel under the tree bark to lay eggs, where they also transmit blue stain fungi. These fungi grow in the egg tunnels and help the beetle kill the tree.
The seasons, and cold temperatures play such a crucial role in regulating how long the adult beetles are feeding for. Therefore, climate change, shorter winters and warmer springs and summers may be a major factor in development of the current epidemic in Colorado. The beetles have moved into higher altitude areas, a sure sign of temperature increase, as larvae are vulnerable in winter and early spring. At these sensitive stages, larvae will die if temperatures below thirty degrees Fahrenheit are sustained for at least five days.
Forest Fires and Carbon Sink
The pest induced deforestation decreases the amount of carbon uptake by the forest and increases its future carbon emissions. So while this problem is partly caused by climate change, the beetle epidemic is also contributing to it. Climate change will continue to enhance the beetle epidemic by altering the pest’s life cycle, abundance of natural enemies and interactions with competitors. In short, continued insect outbreaks coupled with forest fires (carbon emission into atmosphere) will compromise North American carbon sinks.
Artificial Selection
The most popular way to contain an invasive species is to kill it using pesticides. Common associations with pesticide use are in the food agriculture business where a few species of corn, apples and other produce have been chosen to be sold on a large scale. The food system essentially harnesses and replicates these attractive genes through various methods including grafting and genetic modification of seeds to standardize the food they produce. By halting adaptation of the plants, we allow the pests to take the upper hand, therefore creating a need for pesticides. Perhaps by using pesticides on the pine trees we are preventing another species of tree from taking their place in the mountain ecosystems.
Potential Solutions
Verbenone is a hormone and an alternative to pesticides which comes in a pouch and can be hung from trees to deter pine beetles. This alternative is not considered a feasible option to control the pests on a large scale, but can be effective in small populations.
Government spending has been explored, but legislators prefer to allocate funds to protect the people, infrastructure, and water supply. Pest control finds itself at the bottom of the budget. However, the USDA Forest Service reports that solar treatment represents the best alternative to pesticide use. By felling trees with beetle larvae in them, cutting them into four foot logs and leaving them in the hot sun, beetles can be killed before they reach adult state. A good use of government spending would be to create an incentive plan to carrying out this labor intensive alternative to pesticides.
Bibliography and Useful Links
USDA Solar treatments: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/landscapes/Solutions/Pinebeetle
Pesticide Resistance: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/1/l_101_02.html
General fact sheet on MPB: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.html
Are epidemic and forest fires related? http://ecopolitology.org/2010/09/09/fourmile-canyon-fire-a-sign-of-things-to-come-in-pine-beetle-ravaged-colorado-maybe-not/comment-page-1/
Important facts on MPB: http://wilderness.org/content/understanding-mountain-pine-beetle
Stimulus money: http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/135036
Overview: http://www.newsweek.com/2008/07/21/beetlemania.html
Overview: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4287134
What is a carbon sink? http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/what-is-a-carbon-sink-0512/
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/17/colorado-pine-beetle-infestation-swells-to-2/
Article on Verbenone:
Now is the Time for Verbenone. (2010, June 28). Targeted News ServiceRetrieved September 13, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 2103748761).
http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.rpi.edu/pqdweb?did=2103748761&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=8470&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Peer reviewed source on carbon related effects of MBP epidemic:
Kurz, W., Dymond, C., Stinson, G., Rampley, G., Neilson, E., Carroll, A., Ebata, T., & Safranyik, L.. (2008). Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change. Nature, 452(7190), 987-90. Retrieved September 13, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1477284601).
Image Sources:
Beetle Map Image: http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1330292
Sunrise image: http://www.summitpinebeetle.org/images/stories/HomePageGallery/Colorado_mountain_sunrise.jpg
Snowfall image: http://www.summitpinebeetle.org/images/stories/HomePageGallery/Colorado_winter_snowfall.jpg
Forest Fire: http://ecopolitology.org/files/2010/09/fourmile-fire.jpg
Logging image: http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1330291
Barren landscape: http://blog.sustainablog.org/wp-content/files/2008/01/pine-beetle-logsite.jpg
Pine Beetle Image: http://cascadiascorecard.typepad.com/blog/images/mt_pine_beetle.bmp
Tunnel and spray images: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.html